Friday, 5 September 2008

Motorstorm Q&A; lacking Home support, long jump trophies and lava

Motorstorm: Pacific Rift is nearly here.

The follow up to one of the most successful titles on the PlayStation 3, expectations are high for the sequel. When we had a chance to play a 70% complete build of the game recently (video below), those expectations were certainly met.

Nigel Kershaw, Game Director at Evolution Studios, spared us some of his valuable time, giving us more details of what to expect from their new baby. Be prepared for water, lava and... Special Brew?

[PS3A] Why did you decide to host Motorstorm: Pacific Rift on a tropical island, and what different environments can we expect to race in this time around?

[NK] Monument Valley was a fantastic location for the first MotorStorm game but for the second we wanted somewhere where we could really stretch our visual and technology muscles. Picking a tropical island gave us a lot of new interactive technology that we felt we could finally do justice with PlayStation 3. Thus you will find interactive water, interactive vegetation, lava and a whole host of destructible scenery.

[PS3A] We have seen the new Monster Truck vehicle class. In the original Motorstorm, your choice of vehicle determined your route and strategy. What should people be thinking about when choosing to race with these huge vehicles?

[NK] The Monster Truck is designed to be the top of the food chain in the MotorStorm line up; its big wheels makes it capable of running right over opposing vehicles. So when you are racing in one aggression is your main weapon. When you are racing against one stay out of the way! These big wheels also make it a good climber, capable of climbing rough terrain that leave other vehicles as twisted wrecks.

[PS3A] What are the biggest differences in gameplay between Motorstorm and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift?

[NK] Pacific Rift is still MotorStorm but we have enhanced and refined the gameplay in a number of areas, making sure that the player has more decisions to make, more control over his vehicle and a much wider variety of game modes to experience.

[PS3A] We remember the furore around split-screen multiplayer in Motorstorm. What new offline and online multiplayer modes feature this time around, and did bringing split-screen modes compromise the graphics in any way?

[NK] With the technology we had developed for the first MotorStorm split-screen was impossible. When we started Pacific Rift we decided that it had to be a key feature of the game, so we went back to the drawing board and completely re-wrote our rendering technology. In terms of graphical compromise it has not affected the single player or the two player split-screen. We are still working on polishing the four player split-screen, so I can't say whether the tracks will be perfect replicas of the single player ones, but we are aiming to make all modes as fun and enthralling as they can be.

[PS3A] What Trophies can we expect, and will the title be Home-compatible? Are these 'day-one' launch features, or will the game require a future patch?

[NK] Trophies are in day 1 with the usual crop of 'finish the game' and 'progression through the game' awards, but there are also some surprises in here that will really have you hunting out the places to make that perfect long jump, finding a driver to knock over etc. Home support will be along later, but rest assured we have some awesome trophies to really integrate into the game.

[PS3A] We remember all the great DLC you brought to Motorstorm. What plans do you have to extend Motorstorm: Pacific Rift with DLC in the future?

[NK] Sure we have lots of plans for downloadable content for Pacific Rift. We have got some exciting ideas where to extend the game, so keep your eyes on the PlayStation Store in the future.

[PS3A] We've seen people like Criterion almost change their game entirely with DLC, such as the addition of motorbikes and maybe even planes. What do you think of this direction in game design, and is it something we can expect from Evolution?

[NK] We’ve got lots of exciting ideas we are working on, but I wouldn’t want to let the cat out of the bag this soon. DLC does offer us the opportunity to develop the game in many ways. Watch this space!

[PS3A] We were jealous when we saw the 'making of' Motorstorm, and your visits/jollies to Monument Valley. Did you manage to stretch the development budget to a tropical paradise field trip this time?

[NK] The research trip for MotorStorm: Pacific Rift involved us spending three long, gruelling weeks exploring Hawaii on foot, in helicopters and on speedboats. (Ed: nice work if you can get it!)

[PS3A] In honour of the tropical setting, what is your favourite Tiki-bar cocktail? And can you buy one anywhere in Runcorn?

[NK] The Mai-Tai is the perfect drink for the island, but as it doesn’t involve Special Brew, you are unlikely to find one in Runcorn!

Our thanks to Nigel and the team at Evolution Studios.

If you're a US reader and you get Qore, there's a demo of Motorstorm: Pacific Rift scheduled for release on the 11th September, so you don't have long to wait before you can experience a small taste of island paradise.